Traditionally, audience measurement entities enlist panelist households to participate in measurement panels. Members of the panelist households consent to provide demographics data (e.g., gender and age) to the audience measurement entities and to allow the audience measurement entities to collect viewing data (e.g., exposure to media such as television programming, advertising, movies, etc.) of the panelist household members. To identify the media that is exposed to the panelist household members, the audience measurement entities often employ meters (e.g., personal people meters) that monitor media presentation devices (e.g., televisions, computers, etc.) of the panelist household.
Audience measurement entities may also collect tuning data from set-top boxes of panelist households and/or non-panelist households. For example, set-top boxes may record tuning data that is associated with tuning events of the set-top box (e.g., turning a set-top box on or off, changing a channel, changing a volume), and the audience measurement entities may associate the collected tuning data with information associated with the household at which the set-top box is located.
Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawing(s) and accompanying written description to refer to the same or like parts.